The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper is the second in a series of live-action musical feature films starring the Muppets. Synopsis In the story, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear play the roles of twin brothers (yes, twin brothers) who are newspaper reporters for the Daily Chronicle. Accompanied by Gonzo as their photographer, they are assigned to investigate the theft of a valuable diamond necklace from fashion designer Lady Holiday. They travel to London, England to interview her, but without any money for travel, they're forced to fly in the baggage hold of an aircraft and are thrown out of the plane as they arrive over Britain. They stay at the ramshackle (but free) Happiness Hotel, run by Pops and populated by the likes of Scooter, Rowlf, and the Electric Mayhem. When Kermit seeks out Lady Holiday in her office, however, he instead finds her receptionist, Miss Piggy, and mistakes her for the fashion designer. Piggy falls in love with the little green reporter and masquerades as Lady Holiday, even going so far as to sneak into a ritzy house in order to impress Kermit with her dwellings, much to the surprise of the true British residents. In fact, the jewel theft was orchestrated by Lady Holiday's nefarious brother Nicky, assisted by three of her put-upon fashion models. Despite Nicky's instant attraction to Miss Piggy, they successfully frame her for the theft and proceed to steal an even more valuable prize -- the coveted Baseball Diamond, which is on display at a local gallery. Kermit's crew, along with their friends from the Happiness Hotel, have no choice but to intercept and catch the thieves themselves in order to clear Miss Piggy's good name. Piggy, meanwhile, has escaped from prison and, in a bout of serendipity, finds a motorcycle which she uses to literally crash into the film's climax and help apprehend the lovestruck Nicky. The Muppets then return to America the same way they departed, being thrown out of the cargo hold and parachuting back to Earth as the credits roll. Notes * Gonzo's classification as a "whatever" is officially cemented in this film, as this is the label affixed to his shipping crate en route to Great Britain. * The fourth wall is completely demolished by the characters during the course of the film. ** Fozzie comments on the opening credits as they appear on screen. ** Kermit talks directly to the audience about the roles that he and Fozzie and Gonzo will play. ** Miss Piggy questions Lady Holiday giving her information about her brother for no apparent reason, to which she replies that it's important exposition that had to go somewhere. ** Kermit later reminds one of the guest stars (Peter Falk), after a meandering monologue, that they need to get back to the story. ** Kermit and Miss Piggy break character and start arguing over her acting skills. ** During the scene where Miss Piggy steals the truck, the driver (played by Peter Ustinov) questions the presence of Oscar the Grouch, to which he replies "A very brief cameo." * The end of the bicycle scene, where all the Muppets are shown riding together was actually done by putting all of the Muppet characters onto their bikes, then hooking them together. Brian Henson, on an oversized tricycle, was amongst those pulling the bikes. * In addition to Brian Henson, Lisa Henson worked as a production runner. On-screen cameos were made by Jim Henson and Amy Van Gilder (as club patrons), Frank Oz(working at the Daily Chronicle), Jerry Nelson and his daughter Christine (as father and daughter in the park), and Richard Hunt and Kathryn Mullen (in "Hey a Movie!"). * A full body Miss Piggy was used in the film twice. Once when Miss Piggy was leaving the supper club, and another time when she was diving in a pool during her fantasy. * The song "The First Time It Happens" by Joe Raposo was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the 54th Academy Awards. * Jim Henson had various friends and relatives suggest titles for the movie. The winning title was suggested by Lisa Henson. Edits * Prior to 1993 video releases and TV broadcasts of the movie, "Night Life" lacked Dr. Teeth's vocals; when Piggy is walking down the alley after leaving Kermit, Joe Raposo's scoring is interrupted by Big Ben tolling, with no other sound effects; also the same score continues for both the jewel thieves and the Muppets going over their check lists; and Piggy delivers an elongated, "Hiiiiiiiiii-yaaaaaa!" as she crashes through the window at the Mallory Gallery. * When this movie aired on the Odyssey Network, the entire bicycle sequence was cut. * When aired on AMC, the following scenes were cut: *: Gonzo takes a picture of a pigeon was cut. *: Most of "Night Life" *: Cast * Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog (Dubbing over Jim Henson's lines), The Muppet Newsman (Dubbing over Jim Henson's lines), Beaker (Dubbing over Richard Hunt's lines), Statler (Dubbing over Richard Hunt's lines), Rizzo the Rat and Lips * Eric Jacobson as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam the Eagle (Dubbing over Frank Oz's lines) * Matt Vogel as Floyd Pepper, Pops, Lew Zealand, Sweetums and Louis Kazagger (Dubbing over Jerry Nelson's lines and Richard Hunt's lines) * David Rudman as Scooter and Janice (Dubbing over Richard Hunt's lines) * Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Beauregard, Zoot, Waldorf (Dubbing over Jim Henson's lines) and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew * Bill Barretta as Dr. Teeth, Rowlf and The Swedish Chef (Dubbing over Jim Henson's lines) * Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch * Kiran Shah as Miss Piggy (full-bodied stunt double) ** Background Characters *: Annie Sue, Crazy Harry, Gaffer, The Mutations, Droop, Timmy Monster, Frackles, Luncheon Counter Monster, Flower-Eating Monster, Miss Kitty, Lubbock Lou, Bubba, Gramps, Lou, Slim Wilson, Zeke, The Singing Food ** Animated Characters *: Bluebirds Category:Muppets Movies Category:Movies Category:1981